What makes us different?

Welcome to the very first edition of OUTSPOKEN where every two weeks we will explore questions (some new, some familiar) that require innovative thinking and community solutions. I am so excited that you’re here!?

If you would like to learn more about me and what I do, check out the Concrete Cardinal website.

What makes us different? It’s a huge question that can be answered in many different ways depending on the context.?

If I’m talking about Concrete Cardinal, the difference might be the way we approach problem solving. We’re interested in an “outside-in” approach, exploring our physical environments and their societal impact. A community is created one individual at a time, and we like to start from a broader collective sense to positively impact both the community as a whole and the people within it.?

If I’m talking about myself, it might be my commitment to authenticity. I try to be as real as possible, which often leads to moments of vulnerability.??

Or, I could be talking about the fact that I have ADHD. While it is estimated that “fewer than 20% of adults with ADHD are currently diagnosed and/or treated by psychiatrists,” only 2.8% of adults worldwide are diagnosed with ADHD [ADDitude, 2022].

But as an entrepreneur, ADHD isn’t a quality that makes me very different. According to the Economist magazine, people with ADHD are “six times more likely than average to end up running their own businesses.” My question is—why?

The Economist treats neurodivergence as some kind of superpower, calling their article “In Praise of Misfits: Why business needs people with Asperger’s syndrome, attention-deficit disorder and dyslexia” and describing ADHD as an “entrepreneur-friendly affliction.” And they aren’t the only ones. There are many articles out there celebrating ADHD as offering a “strategic advantage” for entrepreneurs.

But as Dr. Russell Barkley says, “ADHD is no gift…[It] does not predispose to anything positive in human life.” He references several highly successful people with ADHD—Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time; David Neeleman, the founder of JetBlue; Howie Mandel, comic and host of Deal or No Deal; and Ty Pennington, host of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Dr. Barkley says, “These people are successful because they have other attributes in which they are gifted.”?

Maybe, as Simply Wellbeing suggests, people with ADHD are more suited to ”high-risk, rapidly changing, less rigid and specialized environments,” qualities that are usually associated with entrepreneurship. However, maybe it isn’t that entrepreneurship works better for us, but that traditional work environments are not inclusive.?

In Michael Bernick’s Harvard Business Review article, he asks, “Is Your Company Inclusive of Neurodivergent Employees?” Author of The Autism Full Employment Act, his work primarily focuses on people on the autism spectrum, who, according to Psychiatrist Lawrence Fung of Stanford University, have unemployment rates “topping 80%.” Some companies have launched in-house hiring initiatives like Microsoft’s Neurodiversity Hiring Program. Other companies like Potentia and Zavikon serve as intermediaries for building more inclusive environments for neurodivergent people like? “alternative interview models to demonstrate skills, neurodiversity training of company staff, and a set of supports within and outside the company.”?

Where does your workplace stand when it comes to neurodiversity??

My ADHD is not a superpower, a gift, or an affliction. It’s simply part of who I am. At Concrete Cardinal, we’re less focused on what makes us different, and more focused on the difference we want to make in the world—creating spaces that are inclusive while sparking enthusiasm and imagination.?

Thank you so much for joining me for my first edition of OUTSPOKEN. Don’t forget to subscribe.

As always, you can find more information here, or you can contact me at [email protected]. If you’d like to connect on social media, I’m active here on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter @andreadeezee.?